The interactive motion comic

Combining music, sound effects and animation, Exodus follows a group of refugees fleeing an unnamed war-torn country. Continuous tragedies remind us that Europe’s refugees crisis is far from over. Exodus rethinks the issue in a powerful and imaginative way.

Viewers can interact with the motion comic by moving their tablet or smartphone horizontally, navigating across a panorama drawing of almost 12 meters (40 feet).

The use of 2.5D parallax scrolling (a technique that creates an illusion of depth in a 2D scene) and the subtle animations heighten the sense of immersion into the world of the story.

About the creators

Jasper Rietman working on the graphic novel of Exodus

Created by illustrator Jasper Rietman, Exodus was originally published as a graphic novel by Submarine Channel (you can still buy the book online).

Rietman’s work has been featured on an array of international media outlets, including The New York Times, The Guardian and the Washington Post. His first interactive illustration was a scrolling web-based book trailer produced by Submarine Channel.

Rietman’s illustration style belongs to the tradition of the “ligne claire,” a European drawing style popularized by, among others, Hergé’s Tintin.

The motion comic version is brought alive by the animations of digital artist André Bergs and by the music of composer Olger Star.

The making-of

Exodus @ Nederlands Film Festival 2020 

Exodus was selected to compete in the Best Interactive category at the Nederlands Film Festival 2020. For the occasion, Submarine Channel set up a physical installation consisting of a long panorama drawing of the story. 

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Have a look, it’s Exodus in @bibliotheekutrecht where you can view the whole panorama illustration and you can check out the app, as well as 7 other amazing interactive projects ranging from VR games to documentaries. We are in the running for a golden calf for best interactive at @nederlandsfilmfestival and if you wish to visit you can find out more at https://www.filmfestival.nl/interactive/ You can also find the app in the Apple App store, it’s 100% free. Currently only for iPhone and iPad, an Android version will be available at a later date. #illustration #comics #nederlandsfilmfestival #goudenkalf #bestinteractive

A post shared by Jasper Rietman (@jasperrietman) on Sep 25, 2020 at 11:55am PDT

👉 Download Exodus from the Apple app store for free

Story

With fluid navigation, interactive 3D and dynamic music, Upgrade Soul tells the story of Hank and Molly Nonnar, wealthy science buffs who decide to fund a risky, experimental therapy to rejuvenate the human body, with only one condition: that they be first in line to receive it. When dangerous complications develop… the battle for psychological dominance begins. When the procedure experiences a fatal complication, the couple is faced with severely disfigured, though intellectually superior duplicates of themselves. Soon, it becomes clear that only one version of each individual can survive, and a psychological battle for dominance begins.

The print version of Upgrade Soul is available online from In Stock Trades, Book Depository, Amazon and other online bookstores.

App

The Upgrade Soul app is an immersive version of the science fiction graphic novel written and illustrated by Ezra Claytan Daniels. Featuring an original score by Alexis Gideon and interactive design by Erik Loyer.

The iOS app is currently not supported by iOS 11 and above.

Features include:

• 3-D effect turns your device into a virtual picture box.
• Stunning original score by experimental hip hop luminary Alexis Gideon syncs to your progress and dynamically reacts to your gestures.
• Extra features and unlockable content enhance an already uniquely immersive reading experience.

What people say

Story

Welcome to the future. The year is 2088. Humanity is divided between two worlds. The rich live inside the “Dead Net,” a simulated virtual reality where the minds of the dead manipulate the world of the living. The poor live on wasteland Earth inside “The Body Electric,” a sprawling factory slum where humans are grown as slaves to the Omni World Corporation. The story follows a group on young desert punks. With their bodies and minds legally owned by the Omni Corporation the Gutter Punks and Pixel Kids have nothing to lose but one another.

Comic Book

Neon Wasteland takes place over 10 chapters. Each volume of the comic had 2 chapters. Each chapter of the book is entirely readable without the AR functionality. The augmented reality component of the book expands the lore of the story and gives clues to future chapters, but does not hide any key plot elements. Details about Volume 2 will be announced in early 2020. There is also a tie in Neon Wasteland Video game that will take place across 5 episodes. More details about Episode 1 will also be released early 2020.

How it works

The Neon Wasteland Augmented Reality (AR) app allows you to bring every panel of this comic to life. All you need to do is download the free Neon Wasteland AR app (links in top right corner) and point it at your Neon Wasteland comic book. You can also read it like a traditional comic book. Neon Wasteland is designed to work both ways, so no matter how you want to read it you will still experience the main story line without missing a beat. The AR app unlocks alternate endings, you’ll interact with characters in the book and enter the “Dead Net” itself to learn the ominous truth of a world where humans and computers have become one.

Page Preview

About

From the creators of Protanopia comes RRR – a revolutionary digital comic series for tablets and phones that builds on an impressive technique developed by studio Plastiek. Combining 3D and 2D animation that lets the reader control the camera, the pages of RRR come to life like no other comic out there does. Get ready for a unique reading experience.

RRR 1

Follow the colorful crew of ‘The Whale’ in 30 action packed, intensely animated comic pages. The story is a dynamic mix of sci-fi, comedy and adventure.

RRR is available in English, French and Portuguese

RRR 2

The story of part 2 picks up right after part 1. We continue the misadventures of this lovable crew of ‘The Whale’. We discover that their computer has grossly miscalculated the time available to them. With no time to waste, their fearless leader, Fur, jumps into action to heroically save the day. Unfortunately things quickly go from bad to worse as they end up having to run for their lives, again.

RRR 2 can be downloaded now from Apple store and Google Play store!

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Our comics now include two of the most sexy languages! #RRR #Plastiek #comic #digital #app #français #Português #Brasileiro

A post shared by André Bergs (@andre.bergs) on Nov 2, 2018 at 3:46am PDT

Story

Inspired by future events. Maggie is growing up in an unknown world. A world where only her dad seems to know the past. Growing up on 18 wheels of steel and always on the road… Is she ready to face the truth?

Two chapters

Saving Maggie will be at least three chapters. Two are available now.

About Maikel Verkoelen

Maikel Verkoelen (a.k.a. MIK) works as a fulltime illustrator at StudioMIK in Nijmegen, The Netherlands. In his free time he likes to experiment with the medium of comics. Drawing live comic with his band; The Square Keys, doodling at improv theater or simply making comics. Music has always been a great influence on Maikel, when drawing. From there the idea arose to combine the two. That’s how Saving Maggie came to be.

Story

Panama Al Brown: Mysterious Strength tells the story of a fantastic boxer and featherweight world champion who hated boxing. He was a sensation in Paris from 1926 to 1938. He was an undisputed master of his art, but he detested boxing. He’d rather play music. He was a talented performer and a lover of champagne and opium. He loved to neglect his training to spend more time with his celebrity persona. Yet as a homosexual in a world where true masculinity was the norm, and as a young black man in the United States in the early 20th Century, he was a loner, who lived an extraordinary life.

Interactive documentary comic

Panama Al Brown: Mysterious Strength blends documentary and fiction in an interactive comic that is made for both desktop and mobile devices. The comic is available in English, French and German and can be read online for free.

About the creators

Alex W. Inker
Alex W. Inker is graduated Institut Saint-Luc in Brussels, where he finished his Master in Cinema. Next to being an artist, he also is a teacher at Lille University, where he discusses with his students the connection between cinema and comics.

Camille Duvelleroy
Camille Duvelleroy is a writer and director of interactive and transmedia stories. She has over 10 years of experience in transmedia storytelling. She helped develop more than 15 interactive programs; from documentaries, to music and fiction. She is also the creator of the immensely popular Instagram comic ÉTÉ.

Jacques Goldstein
After studying philoshophy and aesthetics, Jacques Goldstein worked on tv documentaries. His themes deal with the relationships between black and white culture, exile and creation, music and society.

Storytelling and imagination can be enough to change the world…

Ascent from Akeron is a dystopian thriller set in the distant future that imagines a world without superheroes. The interactive web comic features stunning art, subtle animation, visual effects, a custom soundtrack and audio effects.

Ascent from Akeron poster

Story

Akeron is a forsaken place on a small, isolated island. There is no history and no future. The destroyed city festers at the foot of a gigantic tower that rises like a monolith from the center of the island. The island is permanently shrouded by thick black clouds, plunging it into a permanent state of near-darkness. It’s been like this for ages. On Akeron, no one has ever seen the light of day…

The people of Akeron are permitted to exist by the unseen superior beings that live above the black clouds, so long as they provide electricity to the tower. A mysterious race of Elders controls the coal mines and everything else that exists on the island. They spy on the people of Akeron and warn them to abide by the strictest of rules and that curiosity kills. Yet a 17-year-old boy, Machai, befriends a group of rebellious teenagers, and follows them to a secret place they go…

Main characters

Machai is the central figure of Ascent from Akeron. Machai’s view of his world, his unique sensitivity and courage will make him a great leader one day. The bond with his father is tormented by his obedience to the rules of Akeron.

Laika is an only child of a broken home. Raised by a rigid father, she is a survivor. She has physical strength greater than other girls her age. She is practical, pragmatic and independent. Most of her friends are boys.

Chaos is a voice of reason. He’s active and pragmatic loyal and decisive. When something needs to be done, Chaos will do it. If he can’t, it’s likely nobody can.

The gang on a small raft they built.

Four episodes

The prologue and the first four episodes set up the dystopian world of Akeron and its main protagonists. Submarine Channel ran a successful Kickstarter to fund the 4th episode.

Creative team

Writer William Maher is an Irishman who began working in the American movie industry in the 1990s. Specializing in visual effects, William worked on several superhero movies such as X-Men before moving into writing and directing films of his own. He directed ‘Sleepwalking’ starring Dennis Hopper and Charlize Theron. His visual effects career includes Mars Attacks!, X-Men, X-Men 2 and Batman & Robin.

Born in Barcelona, illustrator and storyboard artist Gustavo Garcia moved to The Netherlands when he was a kid. His debut graphic novel Gagarin came out in 2012. He worked on many award-winning films and interactive productions, including the Digital Emmy-winning interactive documentary Last Hijack Interactive.

Color artists: Anna Engels and Aimee de Jongh
Creative developer: Erik Loyer
Developer: Isabelle Kniestedt and Peder Geurts
Animator: Danne Bakker
Music: Mark Tschanz
Sound design: Thijs Kammer
Producers: Femke Wolting, Bruno Felix, Tommy Pallotta
Interactive Producer: Remco Vlaanderen
Line Producer: Janneke van de Kerkhof
Junior Producer: Sasja Opdam
Graphic and UI design: Christiaan de Rooij
Web developer: Tijmes Woudenberg
Image processing and additional design: Tereza Vostradovská, Annelies Hofman

The story

To Be Continued is a webcomic that explores the story of five young superhumans in a world that does not need superheroes anymore. All supervillains are captured. The fight is over.

George, Karl, Rogue, Teo and Jakob are enrolled in a top-tier superhero academy, yet everything they learn there is just for scripted fights to entertain the masses. The group has to find a new path in life while dealing with the doubts, frustrations, hopes and mistakes that come with being a teenage superhuman. Their fate takes a twist when they stumble upon a scheme which seems to be fixed in time and space and, on top of that, doomed to repeat itself. The group is burdened witht the task to find out if this can be stopped, and if so, if they are strong enough to do it.

Innovative webcomic

To be continued consists of multiple episodes that were originally published weekly. All episodes are now available online for free.

In every episode, the limits of the web page are explored. The user is invited to navigate the comic in a variety of exiting ways. The additional use of video clips, animation sequences or a change of art style make this webcomic truly interactive and innovative.

The authors

Lorenzo Ghetti: Art and Writing

Lorenzo was born in Pisa in 1989. He graduated from the academy of fine arts in Bologna, Italy, he was part of the Italian publisher of short comics Delebile. He now works for the Italian cultural organization Hamelin.

Carlo Trimarchi: Interface Developer

Carlo was born in Messina. He has a degree in computer science, and now lives and works in Berlin. He is the one who built the entire To Be Continued website.

Story

Cardia, a peaceful planet in a galaxy far away has known peace and prosperity thanks to Elion, a gigantic colossus equipped with a protective shield. The shield, the symbol of Cardia, takes its energy from four gemstones corresponding with the four elements. One day, an evil spirit named Kalandar settles himself on the planet with the sole purpose to bring chaos and destruction. He defeats Elion and shatters the shield. The four magic gemstones disappear into the depths of the universe. Years and years later, two heroes: Akilus a fearless warrior and Néra an outstanding pot, embark on a quest to find the gemstones to reactivate the shield and bring the kingdom back from darkness…

Interactive web comic

Last Quest is an epic saga consisting of six episodes that tell the story about the search for the gemstones. The vertically scrolling animated web comic mixes animation, music, and visual effects for an overall immersive reading experience. The comic is available in English and French. All six episodes have been released and can be read online for free.

About Camille Prieur & Vincent Malgras

After having spent their high school years doing fan-art of Star Wars instead of listening to classes, Camille and Vincent, both from the South East of France, meet again in 2013 at the Écoles Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs in Paris. They collaborate on comics published in Parisian fanzines such as Métapolis and Flutiste. In 2017, they take on the digital comics field with Odyssée 2.0, which wins the 3rd price in the digital category of the Angoulême comics festival.

Story

With a deep love of the Hip-Hop culture, Zulu-X and his crew go head-to-head with a nefarious ancient order that has infiltrated the inner cities to settle an ancient score. What happens next can only be described as the perfect blend of action, ancient wisdom and street-smarts all rolled into one epic adventure. Boasting one of the most eclectic ensemble cast of characters, Masters of the Sun delivers a powerful social allegory in the form of a new movement…#stayWOKE!!!

The Comic Book

The Augumented Reality App

A Masters of the Sun Virtual Reality edition of the story was developed in partnership with Oculus.